


Life Inside Pelican Town

by Aceresa



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sam has a voice in his head, Sam-Centric, Telepathy, well not really??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26451775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aceresa/pseuds/Aceresa
Summary: Sam Harris wakes up one morning only to discover there's a voice in his head! The voice reveals that it knows nothing about what was going on, but it knows of Sam and everyone in the town. Join Sam as his life suddenly turns into a journey of friendship, challenges, and romance all the while trying to figure out the mystery of the voice.
Relationships: Abigail & Sam & Sebastian (Stardew Valley), Sam & Sebastian (Stardew Valley), Sam/Male Player (Stardew Valley)
Kudos: 8





	1. In His Head

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey! I'm not exactly new to Stardew Valley, but this is my first story for this fandom. I've only played so much of the game, so I'm sorry if some of the explanations don't make sense or if I'm missing any major plot points. I hope you'll still enjoy reading this!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam wakes up to something different one day.

Sam had heard of the many mystical and truly unbelievable stories that revolve around Stardew Valley while he was growing up. Stories of forest spirits residing near the secret woods, a broken witch on a rampage, a secret war between dwarves and shadow people; Sam always found the stories to be far-fetched. There's nothing magical in the valley -much less Pelican Town- and the rare strange occurrences were immediately debunked by the stepfather of one of his closest friends.

Which is why Sam panicked at the sound of another voice in his head.

_"Hello?"_

Sam jolted awake as a voice resounded in his head. He winced as he clutched his head, dizzy and slightly nauseous from sitting up suddenly. He narrowed his eyes and glanced around his room in suspicion trying to find the source of the voice. Even in the darkness of the night, he could tell no one was in his room.

"What in the name of Yoba..." He muttered as he glanced at the digital clock on his nightstand. It read 8:35 in the morning. Sam groaned and he fell back down and buried himself into the comfort of his blanket. He dozes off for several moments before he was startled awake once more.

_"I thought this room looked familiar!"_

When the voice appeared again, Sam was too tangled with the blankets that he misplaced his hand and slipped off the side of his bed, landing in a pile of cloth and limbs on the floor. He quickly untangled himself and looked for the person the voice belonged to only to find no one around.

"This is it. I'm finally going insane. After 18 long years of this small town, I've finally lost my mind." Sam told himself as he sat on the edge of the bed.

_"Nah, I wouldn't say your crazy. That would be calling me crazy, since you know I'm part of your mind now?"_

"Who the hell are you?!"

In a moment of near hysterics, Sam had forgotten that it was an early hour of the day and he had just screamed at a voice that was supposedly in his mind. He had also forgotten that he was in a house with both his mother and little brother in their respective rooms. He'd be lucky if they weren't woken up by his yell.

_"Well, I suppose I'm you, right?"_

"Huh??"

_"Yeah, I don't know pal. I'm just like you in this situation. Waking up and finding myself in someone else's mind isn't my ideal morning routine."_

"B-but... Wait! What did you mean when you said this room was familiar?!"

_"Oh, that's because this room is Sam's -or uh your- room from Stardew Valley."_

"Stardew- What does the region name have anything to do with you knowing my room?"

_"Oh uh, how do I explain this without it being conveyed wrong..."_

"Why don't you start by explaining who you are?"

_"Who I am? I'm... Uhh... I don't remember? Like I remember snippets of my life, but I don't know my name. Or much of my personal life."_

"Then what do you remember?"

_"I remember music. Lots and lots of it, all different types. I think I loved music. I know I didn't pursue a life of music, but I kept it with me for my entire life. Uhh, I remember school and the drama that was high school and college. God, those were wild years. The last few memories I remember are just video games."_

"So then how do you know of Stardew Valley? From what I'm hearing, you're not from around here."

_"Oh, that's the thing. I think I'm from a whole other universe. No, I KNOW I'm from a different world. And in that world, Stardew Valley was-"_

"Sam! Breakfast is ready!" Jodi, Sam's mother called from outside his room. She pushed open the door immediately after and paused upon the sight of her eldest son tangled in a blanket on the floor. She raised an eyebrow I'm amusement and gave a small smirk.

"Did you have a nightmare or did you revert to your tumbling age?"

"Mom! We don't speak of the tumbling age! I was just startled by a spider near my face and didn't realize how close I was to the edge of the bed!" Jodi chuckled as she smiled warmly with her usual tired eyes.

"Hurry up and get ready for the day, you have to take your brother to the library and go to work soon."

Silence filled the room as she closed the door. Sam sighed and got up to change and get ready for the day. The voice hadn't said anything since his mom entered the room and Sam was beginning to believe he truly was going insane. Just as he stepped out his bedroom ready to get on with his life, the voice began to talk again.

_"You know... Your mom looked worn out. She must be taking your father's deployment harder than what the developers showed us."_

That made Sam stop in the middle of the hallway. How did it know about his father? He hadn't mentioned anything about Kent and yet the voice sympathetically took notice of his mother's physical and mental state. He also thought back to what it had said before his mother came into his room. If it was truly from another world, how would it have known about the war?

_"Stop thinking so hard, you're making ME get a headache. I'll explain everything throughout the day. Or maybe it'll take a week? Who knows. All I know is that it's better to tell you the information in parts to avoid overloading you with seemingly insane facts. Bad insane, not cool insane."_

"You can't blame me for being curious and afraid simultaneously. I don't even know how one would explain this other than 'possession' or magic."

_"I wouldn't be surprised if it was both honestly. This is a rather peculiar town. The junimos are incredible and adorable; they're just fabulous honestly. If you put a prismatic shard into their hut, they'll start to constantly change colors. It was one of my favorite easter eggs."_

"...junimos? Easter eggs? I have no clue what you're talking about right now."

_"Eh, we'll get to that conversation sooner or later. I have to tell you about the functions and storyline before I get to the specifics and all the fun aspects of Stardew Valley."_

Sam sighed as he continued into the kitchen where Vincent and his mom were eating breakfast. He ate his pancakes in a haste, almost choking as he swallowed a mouthful and washing it down with some milk. Vincent grinned gleefully as waited for his older brother to finish washing the dishes.

"Have a good day you two!" Jodi called out to them as they left the kitchen. As soon as the front door closed behind them, Vincent grabbed onto the cuff of Sam's jacket causing Sam to stop in his tracks and look down.

"Sam!! I heard you yelling at something this morning! Like, like early morning! A time where you'd be dead asleep early!" The strawberry haired boy rambled, gesturing with his hands wildly. Sam blinked as he processed what the younger said before chuckling.

"I got scared by a spider crawling too close to my face is all! You know how they like to do that."

"Yeah... Gross. Snails are way cooler than creepy crawlies."

"Right you are little bud. Now, let's get you to the museum. We don't want you to be late to Penny's class!"

Vincent gasped as he nodded frantically. He kept his hold on Sam's jacket as he rushed along the dirt road and over the stone bridge. He only let go of Sam once he was at the entrance to the museum. Waving goodbye to his big brother, Vincent entered the museum.

Sam looked at the time on his phone before he sighed. Wednesdays always felt longer than the other days.

_"Sucks to suck, huh? Wednesdays for me were always so short. I loved it really."_

"Well, when you work at a Joja run shop, time just seems to get slower. I try to pass time by listening to music." Sam replied aloud, not realizing how ridiculous he looked. The voice coughed out a laugh in response.

_"I'm pretty sure you can just talk through your thoughts, Sammy boi. Don't want people to suspect you're going crazy now, do we?"_

"I blame you in advance if I do get caught or sent to an asylum."

_"Like anyone else would suspect me ahaha. Anyway, stop talking to me aloud. I'm in your head, so use your head bro."_

"Right right."

_"Well, what are you waiting for? Get to work sunny."_

Sam let out another sigh in exasperation. Today would definitely be a long day.


	2. In The Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The voice explains some things to Sam about Stardew Valley

Listening to music as he worked was routine for Sam.

Listening to a disembodied voice, however, was not.

_"Oh? Do you dislike my presence then? Well, there's no use lying to me since I can hear ALL of YOUR thoughts. You looove me already."_

There it blabbers on again. It's only his third hour of working and he's already adapting to having a voice in his head. If he were honest, it was quite nice and comforting to have someone other than the townsfolk to talk to.

Even if it was just in his head.

_"Awww! I knew you liked me! Don't worry, Sam! The feelings are mutual."_

Sam and the voice had a discussion about the differences between Joja mart and a train of shops the voice knew as convenience stores while he worked. Sam was fascinated to learn about the new information from the voice, but he was still confused about the topic of a whole new universe.

"So, you're telling me that Joja Corp doesn't exist at all in your universe? That seems like a dream come true. A utopia!" Sam whispered, having not learned his lesson of speaking to the voice aloud. Shane, the town's male alcoholic, coughed from where he was shelving self products. Sam nearly jumped from the unexpected interruption.

"I don't know why you're suddenly talking to yourself and I really don't give a damn either, but keep it up and you'll find yourself unemployed in the near future," Shane muttered under his breath before continuing with his job, ignoring Sam's presence as if he didn't just save him from getting fired.

_"Well, would you look at that! The town's depressed jerk cares about you!"_

"I wouldn't go as far as to say that he cares about me..."

_"He cares about you aggressively!"_ Sam mentally sighed before processing what the voice had said.

'Depressed?' Sam thought. The voice didn't reply immediately. He thought that maybe it can't hear his thoughts after all, and was about to repeat his question aloud when it spoke up.

_"I don't really know his full story since I never got to play his route... From the heart events I did experience, he was a lost man trying to find the meaning of life. Of course, he drowned out the thoughts with booze and alcohol just so he didn't have to feel the emotions that came with said thoughts. So many players thirsted after him for his story, kind of hilarious honestly."_

That was also another topic they hadn't touched upon yet. How did the voice know everyone in town? And their personalities? Or they're pasts? What were these 'heart events' it mentioned just now and what did that have to do with how it knew Shane was depressed and lost?

_"How many times do I have to tell you to not think about it too hard, Sammy? I'll get to explaining everything you're curious about sooner or later. We've got plenty of time! I don't want to unleash a whole bunch of information on you all at once. If anything, that'll probably make you more confused than you already are. And every headache you have, I get. To think I'd have to still deal with headaches of all the bodily functions."_ It mumbled in irritation while Sam rolled his eyes in amusement. By that time, his shift had ended and he was making his way back home.

_"Funny fact! I tried to memorize your schedule for each season, but I never did end up relying on your schedule to track you down. I was usually able to find you some way or another, which I'm grateful for!"_

That made Sam stop in the middle of his path. Memorize a schedule? For each season? So did the voice know every aspect of his daily life? Wait, it just said that it didn't need to memorize the schedule... But that still means that his life has a schedule?

That got complicated real quick.

_"Hmm, well you are going back to your room to hang out for the rest of the day. I might as well explain the most significant information today."_ Sam had never run home as fast as he did then in his entire life.

"I'm home!" He greeted to an empty house before dashing into his room. Closing the door, he took deep breaths to calm down his rapidly beating heart and burning nerves. Just as he was about to ask the voice to explain, it chuckled.

_"I didn't think that the townspeople were able to run! Let alone that fast! I'm not gonna let you settle down until you've taken a shower. You've had a long day and you're covered in sweat at this point. Go take a shower, ya stinky."_

Sam was going to complain, but he didn't like how his clothes stuck to his skin due to the sweat. He sighed as he opened his closet and grabbed some new clothes before entering the adjacent bathroom.

Once he was finished with his shower, he sat on the ground next to his bed and grabbed his guitar. He settled on leaning back on the bed and gently strumming the strings.

'So tell me what I need to know.' He asked the voice.

_"Hey, you're learning to talk through your thoughts! Don't roll your eyes at me, mister! I may not know how old you are, but I do know your life story!"_

"I'm only fresh out of high school. Graduated a few weeks ago and currently planning on doing a gap year to help out at home." Sam said, immediately realizing he said it out loud. Why was he sharing that information with the voice?

_"Oh, that's interesting to know! It kinda relates to the topic for today."_

'What is the topic? How you know everyone and their pasts?'

_"Not exactly, but those are connected to it."_

'Then what is it?'

_"Let's start off with the fact that I'm from a completely different universe. You already know that Joja Corp doesn't exist at all in my world. That isn't entirely true, technically. Ahaha, double entendre. Anyway, while it may not have been an actual company, it existed in a game. A farming simulator, RPG type of game. And the name of this game was Stardew Valley. It was a farming game where you'd play as a farmer who inherited their grandfather's farm."_

'So that's how you knew about Stardew Valley... It was a game, huh? What was the goal?'

_"Well, as I said, you play as the new farmer who moved into the farmhouse west of the town. There wasn't any specific goal in the game, but there was a storyline that you could follow. It was all optional though. You can just play as an independent farmer going about your farm life. Most people do that as a stress reliever or to relax. However, if you choose to follow the story, the player would have to interact with the NPCs in town and complete tasks sent to them through the mail. For example, you were an NPC character in the game."_

'What did you do?'

_"Honestly, I usually played it on co-op and preferred to fish and mine while my sister took the job of farming. I did follow the story if that's what you're asking."_

'You said something about schedules earlier. If I'm understanding what you're saying so far, I- no, everyone in town- had set schedules of our lives that we were coded to follow.'

_"Yep! You were all mindless characters in a game that repeated their lives every. Single. Year. You even said the same lines over and over again. Kinda weirdly morbid, right? To think that you are considered as just a video game character with no life outside of the game?"_

'That... It's making me curious now.'

_"Ohhh, curiosity killed the cat, ya know?"_

'But satisfaction brought it back.'

_"Ahahaha! Alright, I have an idea of where your thoughts are going."_

'Right... So, you've told me that the schedule is set. Infinitely, I assume?'

_"Correct."_

'So if I were to have lived my life regularly as if nothing new has happened, would it go according to the game's story?'

_"I'm not sure. You'd have to tell me about what has happened so far. I don't even know if there's a farmer here yet."_

'Oh! That totally slipped my mind. Yes, if I remember correctly, the farmer will be moving in this coming spring. Lewis was telling my mom all about how the farmer was related to old man Vidon.'

_"That means that if everything in the game were to happen, then it would all start right when he moves in. What day is it and what season is it currently?"_

'It's 25 Summer. Fall will officially begin in 3 days.'

_"That's gives us 2 full seasons before the farmer arrives. I won't be able to determine if the game and your world are connected until at least 2 weeks after the farmer begins their life here."_

'What can we do until then?'

_"... Well~ I'm not sure if you'd be so willing to go along my idea."_

'That makes me worried about what you have in mind... I'm not a wimp so hit me with your best shot.'

_"Have you ever been to the mines?"_


End file.
